A 29-year-old Cinebar woman possibly suffering from a “mental breakdown” is accused of setting fire to her home in Cinebar on Monday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
Katherina L. Howard was arrested for first-degree arson, first-degree malicious mischief and hit-and-run after deputies responded to a report of a vehicle fire in the 100 block of Zola Drive East at about 10:15 a.m. Monday. A DUI charge was also referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.
Howard is accused of starting a fire both inside and outside of the residence she rents, as well as driving her vehicle head-on into a Lewis County Fire District 8 engine that had responded to the fire.
The crash caused significant damage to Howard’s vehicle, deployed her airbag and delayed response to the fire, according to the sheriff’s office. After the crash, Howard allegedly fled on foot and was later located by deputies.
Responding deputies noted Howard “appeared to be in an altered mental state,” Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Field Operations Bureau Chief Dusty Breen said in an email to The Chronicle on Tuesday.
While en route to the scene, deputies were reportedly told Howard “claimed ‘the baby was dead,’” according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators later confirmed Howard’s children were safe with a family member and were not at the Cinebar residence at the time of the incident.
Howard was booked into the Lewis County Jail just after 6:30 p.m. on Monday, June 12, according to jail records.
She has a preliminary hearing for felony charges in Lewis County Superior Court scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 13.
